Key mount for organ

ABSTRACT

A simplified arrangement for mounting the keys of an organ keyboard, to provide silent stops that limit the downward and upward movement of the keys and that help to fix the lateral positions of the keys along the keyboard. The system includes a row of rubber grommets mounted in holes formed in the keyboard plate below each key, and limit members mounted on each key and extending downwardly through a grommet. Each limit member has a guide portion that can slide up and down through the hole of the grommet, an upper stop portion that hits the upper surface of the grommet when the key is depressed to a maximum extent, and a lower stop portion that hits the grommet when the key is released to spring up to its uppermost position. The rearward, or fulcrum regions of the keys are pivotally mounted on a bar which has tabs extending into the keys to also fix the locations of the fulcrum regions of the keys.

United States. Patent 91 May et al.

-[54] KEY MOUNT FOR ORGAN [75] Inventors: Richard L. May, Manhattan Beach;

Alcwyn Flicker, Carson, both of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif.

[22] Filed: Feb. 7, 1972 [21] 'Appl. No.: 224,099

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,665,092 5/1972 Heiman ..84/351 998,192 7/1911 Mayor ..84/435 3,087,368 4/1963 Lund ..84/423 3,663,738 5/1972 Nakada ..84/423 3,654,831 4/1972 Grilli et al. ..84/435 Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-Lawrence R. Franklin Attorney-Seymour A. Scholnick 51 June 5,1973

[57] ABSTRACT A simplified arrangement for mounting the keys of an organ keyboard, to provide silent stops that limit the downward and upward movement of the keys and that help to fix the lateral positions of the keys along the keyboard. The system includes a row of rubber grommets mounted in holes formed in the keyboard plate below each key, and limit members mounted on each key and extending downwardly through a grommet. Each limit member has a guide portion that can slide up and down through the hole of the grommet, an upper stop portion that hits the upper surface of the grommet when the key is depressed to a maximum extent, and a lower stop portion that hits the grommet when the key is released to spring up to its uppermost I position. The rearward, or fulcrum regions of the keys are pivotally mounted on a bar which has tabs extending into the keys to also fix the locations of the fulcrum regions of the keys.

2 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures KEY MOUNT FOR ORGAN BACKGROUND This invention relates to organs, and most particularly to the keyboard of organ-like instruments.

The apparatus for mounting the keys of an organ k eyboard must account for several factors. The keys must be spaced a small distance from one another so that when one key is depressed it does not move down the adjacent keys. Stops must be provided for uniformly limiting the downward and upward movement of the keys in a manner that does not generate clicks or other noise if the keys are suddenly depressed or allowed to fly up. A variety of mounting devices have been utilized, but they generally involve the use of many specially constructed parts that must be separately mounted in precise location, all of which adds considerably to the cost of the organ. A key mounting system which minimized the complexity of key mounting would enable the mass production of organs at a minimal cost. I t 1 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, an organ key assembly is provided which utilizes a minimum of simple and easily mounted parts to accurately locate the organ keys and permit their operation with a minimum of extraneous noise. The assembly includes an organ frame with a horizontal keyboard plate that has a row of holes below the positions of the keys. A rubber grommet is mounted in each of the holes, so that portions of the grommets project above and below the plate surfaces. The keys each have limiting members extending downwardly through the holes of the grommets, with enlarged portions at the upper and lower ends of the limiting members that serve as stops. When a key is fully depressed, the upper stop portion moves down against the grommet, and when the key is released the lower stop portion abuts the grommet, the contact with the rubber grommet resulting in minimal noise. The center portion of the limiting member, which can slide through the grommet hole,

. serves to define the position of the key to assure that the keys are spaced a slight distance from one another along the keyboard. The formation of holes in the keyboard plate and the installation of rubber grommets can be accomplished accurately and at low cost, while the limiting members can be formed on the keys or installed thereon at minimal cost.

The rearward, or fulcrum regions of the keys are pivotally mounted on a bar that has tabs extending into the keys. The tabs serve to accurately locate the fulcrum portions of the keys against sideward shifting. The tabs are molded integrally with the bar, in the form of a comb like member that supports many keys, so that a minimum of separate parts must be formed and mounted in the organ.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawmgs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial prospective view of a keyboard constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial prospective view of the apparatus of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partial side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, showing the fulcrum portion of a key and its manner of mounting on the comb support;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the comb support of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6A illustrates a portion of the comb support of FIG. 6, showing how it limits wobbling of a key;

FIG. 7 is a sectional side view of a key and mounting assembly constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional side view of a key and mounting apparatus constructed in accordance with still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a view of the apparatus of FIG. 8, shown during initial installation of the key;

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of a comb support arrangement for mounting the fulcrum region of the keys in accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a partial section perspective view of a comb support arrangement constructed in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 12 is a partial plan view of the arrangement of FIG. 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a portion of the keyboard of an electronic organ, which includes a row of keys 10 which are intended to be manually depressed by a musician. The row of keys lies immediately above a keyboard plate 12 which supports a pivot bar 14 that pivotally mounts the keys on the plate. When a musician depresses the forward portion 10F of a key, which lies forward of the pivot bar 14, a rearward portion 10R of the key moves upwardly and deflects one switch contact 16 against another 18 to allow currents from a tone generator 19 to pass into an amplifier and loudspeaker arrangement 21. The lower switch contact 16 also supplies spring forces that urge the key to pivot so that its forward portion returns to its original position when released. The key 10 has an upper wall 20 and a pair of side walls 22, 24. Rounded recesses 26 formed in the bottom of the side walls receive the pivot bar 14 to pivotally mount the key on the keyboard plate, and also to fixjthe forward-to-rearward position of the key along the directions of arrows F and R. The pivot bar 14 has tabs 27 that are received in the key to fix the lateral position, in the direction of arrow L, of the rearward or fulcrum portion of the key where it is mounted on the pivot bar. However, the tabs 27 do not fix the lateral position of the forward portion 10F of the key. Additional mounting apparatus is required to fix the lateral position of the forward key portions, and also to limit the extreme up and downward positions of the keys.

In accordance with the invention, a row of holes 28 is formed in the keyboard plate 12, each hole being located below the forward portion 10F of a key. An eyelet or grommet 30 which is constructed of rubber or other elastic, or dampening material is installed in each hole 28 of the plate. A limiting member 32 is formed in the key 10, and has an upper stop portion 34 above the grommet 30, a middle guiding portion 36 extending through the eye or hole 38 in the grommet, and a lower portion 40 located below the grommet. A washer42 is fixed to the lower portion 40 of the limiting member and serves as a lower stop. The washer 42, which is wider than the eye 38 of the grommet, normally bears against the lower surface of the grommet to determine the.position of the key 10 when it is released to move upwardly under the force of the spring contact member 16. When a musician depresses the forward portion 10F of the key, the key moves down until the upper stop portion 34 contacts the upper surface of the grommet 30. The upper stop portion therefore limits the distanceto which the key can be depressed.

Both the size of the limit members 32 and of the grommets 30 can be closely controlled, and the position of the washer 42 on the limit member can also be closely controlled. Accordingly, the uppermost position of each key is closely controlled so that the keys appear to accurately lie at the same level when they are not being depressed. Furthermore, all keys have the same downward travel to provide a uniform feel to the musician. If the musician rapidly strikes down a key or suddenly releases it to spring up, he will hear a minimal noise because the stops at 34 and 42 both strike the elastic grommet material, which produces a minimum of noise.

Referring also to FIGS. 3 and 4, it can be seen that the grommet has an elongated shape, and its hole or eye 38 has a length S in the forward-to-rearward direction, greater than its width W. The guide portion 36 of the limit member is cylindrical and has a diameter only slightly smaller than the width W of the grommet eye. Accordingly, the grommet 30 closely locates the key in a lateral direction but does not fix the forward-torearward location of the key. The forward-to-rearward location is determined by the location of the pivot bar 14 relative to the recesses 26 in the key. The use of the grommet to locate the keys in a lateral direction eliminates or minimizes the need for any other lateral locating devices to assure a small spacing of the keys from one another. The holes 28 that receive the grommets can be accurately located on the keyboard plate, so that it is relatively simple to maintain close control of the lateral position of the keys on the keyboard. The fact that the grommet doesnot closely locate the keys in a front-to-rear position results in a minimum possibility of binding of the guide portion 36 on the walls of the grommet hole 38. If the grommet were to closely surround the entireguide portion 36, then greater tolerances would have to be utilized in the spacing of the limit member 32 from the pivot recesses 26 on the key.

The pivot bar 14 is designed for low cost manufacture by injection molding, and for rapid mounting. As shown in FIGS. and 6, the bar 14 has a base part 43 that can be fastened facewise to the keyboard plate 12, and has several tabs 27 for locating several keys on the keyboard plate. Each tab 27 has a width only slightly less than the space between the side walls 22, 24 of the key, to easily fit in the hollow region that exists between them. When the keys are lowered onto the comb-like pivot bar, their rearward portions are automatically located in a forward-to-rearward direction and against lateral shifting, while they also are confined to pivoting on the bar. The pivot bar has a rounded fulcrum portion 45 that is received in the downwardly fac ing recesses 26 of the key to pivotally support the key. The pivot bar also has tilt-resisting ribs 47 extending below the top of the rounded fulcrum portion 45, to prevent excessive wobbling of the keys. As indicated in FIG. 6A, when a key begins to wobble, by tilting about its imaginary longitudinal axis, its side walls 22, 24 abut the edges of the tab 17 and one of the ribs 47 to limit such wobble.

FIG. 7 illustrates a key in a depressed condition, which has another form of a limit means 50, wherein a lower stop 52, is formed in the limit member instead of being a separate washer or the like. Ther lower stop portion 52 has a rounded downwardly facing surface 54 to facilitate its forcible projection through the grommet hole, and has a flat upwardly facing surface 56 to resist upward retraction through the grommet hole. Thus, the limit assembly is installed by merely forcing it down through the grommet, instead of requiring the attachment of a separate washer. The limit assembly 50 can be separately formed and attached by adhesive or' the like to a key 58, or can be formed integral with it.

FIG. 8 shows still another embodiment of the invention, wherein the limiting assembly 60 has a hookshaped lower portion 62 at the bottom of an angled guiding portion 64. As shown in FIG. 9, the limiting assembly can be installed by moving the hooked portion 62 down through the hole in the grommet while the recesses 68 are rearward of their normal position with respect to the pivot bar 14. Once the hook 62 lies below the grommet, the key can be shifted forwardly and the recesses 68 lowered to receive the pivot bar 14.

FIG. 10 illustrates keys 70 with rearward portions pivotally mounted on a pivot bar 72 which serves as a spring. The pivot bar 72 had a substantially rigid portion 74 for mounting on the keyboard plate, and has a covering 76 of resilient material. Tabs 78 formed in the covering are closely held by tab-engaging walls 80 on the key. The tabs serve as springs that resiliently urge the keys to pivot back to their original positions when their forward ends are depressed. The tabs are short enough so that the keys are pivotally supported on the area of the covering around the tabs. However, it is possible to support the keys solely on the tabs, so that they also pivotally support the keys.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate a key and pivot bar assembly that serves to hold the keys so that they cannot lift off the pivot bar. The key has a laterally extending rib 92 that can fit under a hook-shaped tab 94 on the pivot bar 96. The key is assembled on the pivot bar by pushing it down thereon until the rib 92 snaps under the hooked portion of the tab 94 and is locked in place. The pivot bar assembly also has a rounded fulcrum portion 95 that pivotally supports the key. The horizontal rib 92 can be formed by a mold shutoff during injection molding to separate the rib 92 from an upper wall 98 of the key.

Thus, the invention provides a simple key mounting system that assures almost noiseless stopping of the keys at accurately defined uppermost and lowermost positions, and which also accurately locates the keys in a lateral position along the keyboard. This is accomplished by the use of grommets of elastic or dampening material installed in holes formed in a keyboard plate, and by the utilization of limit means on the keys, that project through the holes and that have enlarged upper and lower portions for abutting the grommets when the keys are depressed or released. The invention also provides simple means for laterally locating the fulcrum portions of the keys and preventing excessive wobbling. 5 This is accomplished by providing upwardly extending tabs on a pivot bar to prevent sideward shifting, and by providing ribs below the pivot surface of the pivot bar for engaging the side walls of the key and acting in combination with the tabs to limit wobbling.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in the art and, consequently, it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.

tending with an upward directional component therefrom, and a plurality of wobble-limiting ribs extending substantially perpendicular to said fulcrum portion and having portions below the top of the fulcrum portion for engaging the side walls of the key;

said plurality of keys being mounted on said pivot bar means, with said fulcrum portion received in said recesses of said keys, each of said tabs received in the hollow portion of a key to laterally locate the rearward portion of the key, and a pair of wobblelimiting ribs lying adjacent to the side walls of each key and acting in conjunction with the tab in the key to limit tilting of the key about an imaginary axis that extends along the length of the key.

2. A keyboard assembly for a keyboard musical instrument comprisingza frame; a pivot bar mounted on said frame, said pivot bar including an elongated fulcrum, said fulcrum having upwardly extending tabs spaced along the length thereof and said fulcrum having ribs extending outwardly therefrom adjacent said tabs; and a plurality of keys, each of said keys having a recess in its bottom for receiving said fulcrum, a hollow portion defined by a pair of side walls for receiving one of said tabs, with said side walls engaging said ribs for limiting tilting of said key about an imaginary, longitudinal axis. 

1. An organ key assembly comprising: a frame; a plurality of keys, each key having a manually depressible forward portion and a rearward portion, said rearward portion of each key having a fulcrum receiving recess in its bottom and a hollow portion; and pivot bar means mounted on said frame, said pivot bar means including an elongated and laterally extending fulcrum portion, a plurality of tabs spaced along the length of said fulcrum portion and extending with an upward directional component therefrom, and a plurality of wobble-limiting ribs extending substantially perpendicular to said fulcrum portion and having portions below the top of the fulcrum portion for engaging the side walls of the key; said plurality of keys being mounted on said pivot bar means, with said fulcrum portion received in said recesses of said keys, each of said tabs received in the hollow portion of a key to laterally locate the rearward portion of the key, and a pair of wobble-limiting ribs lying adjacent to the side walls of each key and acting in conjunction with the tab in the key to limit tilting of the key about an imaginary axis that extends along the length of the key.
 2. A keyboard assembly for a keyboard musical instrument comprising: a frame; a pivot bar mounted on said frame, said pivot bar including an elongated fulcrum, said fulcrum having upwardly extending tabs spaced along the length thereof and said fulcrum having ribs extending outwardly therefrom adjacent said tabs; and a plurality of keys, each of said keys having a recess in its bottom for receiving said fulcrum, a hollow portion defined by a pair of side walls for receiving one of said tabs, with said side walls engaging said ribs for limiting tilting of said key about an imaginary, longitudinal axis. 